What? Expecting?

We as anglers, pattern fish to create expectations of behavior and location. A responsive angler knows real fast, um something is different. When this happens we experience locations to vary, or a response far different than we are used to.

The question comes to mind, how do we alter our approach when we see this variation in our quarry. What I hope to do each day is to go out on the water interpret the environment / fishery, gather info via fishing and sonar, make choices and respond not react to the variations of weather, water level and others until I find a pattern or sometimes I call it a recipe for success. 

A good example of this is, say the pike fishing is on fire via top water and in 1' to 5 ' then a slight cold front comes thru. Slight right, well ya but the thunderstorms that night with a lot of lighting. Are those same pike gonna be shallow first thing in the a.m., well no I think not. Um probably change my approach.

Yes as most things fishing, I see a parallel to daily life. We pattern our spouses, friends and co-workers, I think it's a human trait, I know I take this for granted at times not acknowledging what environmental affects have altered the friend or spouse's patterns. To take time to be aware of this, is to be focused on them and how we can lovingly interact and give to their needs. 

What? How is your life affected by the environment or world today?
Expecting? Careful this response is seldom the same, although we try to make it that way for our comfort.

First ?

I recently have had the joy of lots of first time experiences with folks guiding. First fish ever caught, first time to fish in Colorado, first time to deep jig for a fish, first fish larger than my foot (kind of a weird comparison, but real).

Sometimes these firsts will leave ya thinking. It created in myself the wonder of all the conditioning and habits we create for our minds.  Can we adjust and direct our thoughts to experience these firsts again?  I have not found the recreation of the first time for myself, but I have found the joy of watching and being a part of creating an environment in which others do.

One recent satisfaction was the opportunity to share with a young man who is sensitive, yep sensitive like myself, some coping strategies to be able to handle this time of awareness and insight into his spirit as well as others.

It is truly a pleasure to guide folks fishing and spend time with them while learning about each other and helping each other. All while fishing and being outside in our beautiful world.

Oh, you gotta be Fast

Being reactive and fast to change to conditions is a difficult thing to do sometimes.  Then there are the variables of the fish are present but in different moods all the time.

This season with the flood stage filling out lakes in Grand County has had me very reactive almost jumpy.  Most groups of fish have moved daily and continue to be very tight to the bottom requiring a very sensitive sonar and a slower scan when I want to search fast.

Ya I am admitting this transitional season is stumping me some. We are still catching the fish we need to create satisfaction, exposing clients to the process of finding targets and then going after them. Granby seems the most affected by this effect and it is still filling. Williams Fork is full and spilling slightly. Wolford is full and spilling slightly as well as still muddy looking but settling as we go along.

Hey, fish well and watch out for the debris that moves out into the lakes daily as they fill or wind changes direction.

Also who came up with the easy button idea should be slapped, because like all good things we have to work for em.

The Quick Shift

I got stood up for the first time as a guide in 10 plus years of guiding.  Wow a lack of respect to not even contact and advise me, I won't make it something has come up.  I truly hope they are alright and so are all their family members. 

Now for the quick shift so from guiding to free fishing practice.  A whole different mind set and a shift from the really he blew me off to just fishing and enjoying the day.  Um, a lot like having faith or just trusting things are different and allowing the mind and body to change chemically to a whole different energy.  Kinda like when you are arguing with someone and you realize crap they are right, how hard is to shift then.

Well the lakes around Grand County - Williams Fork, Granby, and Wolford are all on a quick shift of their own as well, the extra high temps and run off have fish and environment shift every day.  The fish are here today and gone tomorrow, with the rising water as well temps going up 2-3 degrees a day.  The fish are quick change artists as well.  I really like the challenge and succeeding and ending up in places where I might not have if things stayed the same.

One of the different places involved passing under this eagle, we were only some 40' apart and it became a message of trust.  Yep an Indian moment where the world of animals speaks directly into your soul.  The message trust in the universe (GOD) go slow and know we are all one.

My response was to relax and just enjoy all the change, and to let it speak peacefully to my soul as 
the eagle trusted my passage.

Waiting is Over

Wow what happened, awhile back I think I was waiting for it all to start. Well it did with big fish and and good times. We have shared moments with folks from Texas, new arrivals from Australia and folks from Georgia. The fishing was worth waiting for and big fish as well as numbers are being caught with the Eagle Claw Sabalos reel with Fins Super line handling fish peeling drag and having to be dragged back to the boat for a quick photo.

The Northern Pike bite is just turning on and it is a test in patience, the ability to slow down and pause sometimes up to 1 minute before moving a bait is brutal. Until you slow down and think it thru. How I slow down is to think about the other predators. Cougars which stalk or lay in wait for the prey to appear.  I also visualize the Pike staring down the bait, then triggering its striking instinct.

The longer I fish the more I realize its about the sport and all the activities involved.  Mostly the ability to use my mind to think thru the environment and challenge my understanding of it thru my fishing techniques.

One of the parties mentioned above and I shared about the challenges of raising our children.  It always surprises me when I run so parallel to folks I spend a day with.  It is truly refreshing and increases my faith.

Waiting

Man I want the ice to hurry up and melt so I can get back to the fish, I love to catch so much. Grand county fishing and reservoirs should get plenty of water and the fish are going to love the extra fertility. 

Why is waiting so hard? I think about what is in front of me and not what I am doing. Everything is reloaded with Fin's line on the Sabalos reels.  The boat is tuned and ready. So I get to be where I am, waiting and learning how to wait. I don't want it to go too fast as it may include stuff and experiences I do not like.

I was recently with a few friends in Texas whom had lost their spouses this last year. I can only imagine the pain and loneliness. I think about this as I wait on something like ice to melt. Seems really trivial at times, but it has me also thinking about what a spouse would want for their partner. I get excited again about the ice coming off and a new season. I hope I can continue to share the changing seasons with those whom I love.

Fishing is a craft which reflects my passion to provide and gather for my family. If you read back through my blogs you will find an open personality, open view of a person experiencing nature and the crafts surrounding it to become an expert at viewing the environment and responding to the opportunities available to the given day and those whom are with me. 

Come share a day on the water with me at Grand Lake, Williams Fork and/or Wolford Mtn. Reservoir and if you want a big fish fun day with Bernie I can hook ya up with him for Granby Reservoir.

So while I wait, I will fish with friends and catch me some walleyes and catfish. Heading to Clayton New Mexico to fish this week end.

"It's Here"

Do you know the wait, that wait, waiting for something to arrive like a whole season. Say the season of ____________________ or the season of being a parent or grandparent. I sure hope you folks find this insight spilling out of my head and the point of view of life which creates a wholeness in ourselves as well as others around us entertaining and thought provoking. 

Yahooooooooo, I am a grandpa, wow I used to think waiting for spring and fishing to kick back in and the preparedness to be a thrill once it arrived. It is an amazing journey being a parent. When my kids were born I was so terrified and busy providing I truly missed the creation which was in view right in front of me. To have time now in life to look at this creation brings into view so much more other forms of creation and love. Ya I know you tough guys think this is mushy so this is what life is. We cannot be tough or know what to protect until we love or it needs us. I am trying to convey the feeling and thoughts that we are all one and there is really only one love (Just Like U2 states in its song). We all strive to live with others and be with them as friends, lovers, spouses, brothers, sisters and children. Then why is this so tough sometimes? It is because just like the fish, life is not the same every day. Us and them, we all need to swim to a different place occasionally.  Loving others in our world is about noticing what is the same and what is different today then being gentle and providing a being next to another.

This has me thinking of the joy I feel when I catch a fish, that primal response (God, the world /universe) gave that to me, I was here making a choice to catch this and it worked. I am grateful for the gift and proud of my choices to create this success (Yes I do see the world this simple). 

I ask for all who read this to stop and think for a few of the joy of just being outside and how safe a place this can be to just be in the world (i.e. going to sleep this night being able to think back to something like I saw a falling star with a friend, child or my parent). This life is not forever and a day is such a short event as well as an eternity. It is only me and my attitude that make the difference.

Like I said I hope you guys find this entertaining and thought provoking, if you would like to fish and spend a day with someone who see's the world a little slanted with love and creation, please join me on Grand Lake, Williams Fork Reservoir or Wolford Mountain Reservoir. 

Oh we can just have fun and fish as well. This season looks good for pike, lakers and kokanee. 

My closing thought or words of wisdom are from a friend and fellow guide Bernie Keefe (fishingwithbernie.com) "FISH THE BITE DO NOT FORCE THE BITE, JUST GO FISHING"